9 weeks och aye

Zack is 9 weeks old tomorrow, and I'm guessing is weighing in at around 6.3kgs if not more. He is doing very, very well and I thought I'd mark the occasion by noting some of the little developmental items that have gone on in the past while.

He is starting to say "a-goo" more and more. This is usually followed by smiles and chortles. He is responding to smiles and can give you a real dazzler when he wants to. This does wonders for every mummie's heart!

He went for 6 hours between feeds on Tuesday night (this is remarkable because he is usually on a 3 hour cycle), and I felt like a million bucks after all that sleep. I hadn't notice how much I was suffering from sleep deprivation, until I took a note of my mood the following day : I was upbeat, happy, coping really well, and feeling quite chirpy. I don't expect him to do quite so well every night, but I do hope it's the start of good things. He was back to a 3-hour cycle the next night, but he managed to do 4.5 hours last night.

He has been wearing no.2 Pampers nappies until now, and it occured to me this week that he is now beyond the 6kgs on the guide, so I should get him some larger ones. That means our little bub is going onto no.3's already. Whew ! it all happens so fast.
Also I took out some T-shirts for him to wear today, and noticed that they barely fit him anymore and I haven't put him in them at all. Tsk tsk. This is why I need Keith - he has set up a system of baby clothes so that I know what the next 'set' of sizes UP are, and can pull them out the drawer. It's odd how some of the stuff is good for weeks and weeks (eg. he can still fit into the yellow baby grow that we brought him home from the hospital in), and then other things, you can forget ! They just don't do up anymore.

He has had cradle cap (infantile seborrhoeic dermatitis) the last two weeks, and it's been particularly bad on his eyebrows. I'm medicating it with olive oil, as directed by the midwife, and it seems to be making a big difference. The problem is that he rubs it (oil) off every time you hug him, because he loves to nuzzle your shoulder. It's not too nice to look at, but doesn't seem to cause him too much discomfort.

We love skype ! and we love to talk to uncle Andy. It's wonderful being able to stay in touch and now to share pictures - as we both have a webcam !

Yesterday I went walking with Trish (and Caitlan) and Elly (and Anokye) up in Victoria Park. It was THE MOST BEAUTIFUL afternoon, and we breezed around the park and looked at the sky, the trees, the geese, the children playing. It has been so good to get to know that part of London a bit better as we tend to isolate ourselves to the Docklands and Vicky Park, as it is affectionately known, is such a boon for a mum who needs to stretch her legs out-of-doors.

We are driving up to Scotland for the Bank Holiday weekend. We will visit my mum's cousin Geoff and his wife Pia. It's going to be fab ! I must say that I was a bit silly in reckoning the travelling time, but they say it'll take us around 7 hours, which is not too bad. I just hope that Zack holds out for that long in the car - it can be quite tedious for little 'uns. A neighbour has offered us a horizontal sleeping cot that you can strap into the car and I would like to take her up on it.

Otherwise all we have to say is "Och Aye" and off we goooooo !

(back next week with photos of hairy coooos and all that)

survival tip no.1 - sleep when baby sleeps !

Well, you didn't hear it from me.
In fact, I've heard it from almost everyone else and still not put it into practice until recently. You know when you're brought to your knees by the situation that it's time to take some good old home-spun advice and DO IT, like the Nike advert says. So we did... in a manner of speaking.

Last night we fed Zack at 10:30pm, after giving him a bath and all was calm and delicious. Keith put him to bed, and we both rushed around doing things until midnight (our usual sad-O bed time). I remember looking at the clock and it said 00:22, although I know that Keith keeps it running about 10 minutes fast. It's still a bit of a gloomy announcement when you know you probably have 50 minutes to get some shut-eye before the little growling noises turn into a wail of starvation and armageddon.

Imagine my surprise when I woke up at 04:27 to a little cry.

Whoohoooooo ! ! !
Our baby has done the six hour stretch for the first time !
What a feeling of elation, and pride. I know that I'm feeling as good as I am today because I've had more than 2 hours of undisturbed sleep for the first time in 2 months. It also makes me see how my coping ability in the past week has been getting worse and worse - especially with the fever and infection. I feel great now.

I'm hoping we can help Zack sleep longer more often. We will see what happens.

mastitis roundabout

zack is now 8 weeks + 2 days old. I have managed to come down with mastitis again and this time it's been N-A-S-T-Y!!! I had a raging temperature from Friday evening until Sunday morning. Life seems to turn into a haze of sweat, shivering, feeding baby and trying desperately to sleep. Not nice at all. I thought the worst was over and went out for a lovely lunch with friends yesterday afternoon. I felt great.
Then last night when I got to bed after the midnight feed - so that's almost ten to one - I started feeling chilly again. Thankfully I could snuggle up to Keith and drift in and out of sleep. But I kept waking drenched in sweat, knowing I needed to get up and feed Zack. Yuck ! yuck ! yuck !

I don't wish mastitis on anyone, it is just revolting.

Amazingly, when I rang the doctor's rooms this morning they'd had a cancellation and could see me at noon. (what are the chances on the NHS???) So off I toddled, and now I'm on another stint of antibiotics. This time a heavier dose than before, and I'm hoping the penicillin kicks the infection for good.

Zack has been steadfast in his feeding though, so that's made things easier. He is happy to feed on both breasts and I'm going to try and express from the infected breast to try and clear the infection. The doctor tells me that mastitis is an infection of the tissue, so there is no cross-over to the actual milk supply. It makes sense, but I think all mums worry.

Wonderful news : more babies in the world !

Luke Andre de Oude - 14th May 2006
a baby boy for Walt and Cindy in Singapore

Patrick James de Oude - 22nd May 2006
a baby boy for Eric and Emma in Guildford, UK and a cousin to Luke

How awesome !

tues must be blocked ducts

went to norfolk with mum to show her the beautiful countryside and managed to head straight into a blocked duct. Thankfully I had some advice from a friend in the back of my mind, so took a warm bath and got out my comb and used that to massage the ducts. Using your thumbs just seems to bruise, so a comb offers steady, constant pressure. Hey it worked !

Had a lovely time in Norfolk, although it was TERRIBLY FAR to drive for just 2 days. Zack was very good, and we had a fun time driving through the countryside.

A night in with the girls !

Tonight, Zack, Mum and I hosted the NCT reunion. We had a good turnout - only 2 cancellations and 2 no-shows. It was great to see all the girls (and boys) and catch up on what's transpired in the 3 months since we saw one another last.



Caitlin while she was up and running, earlier in the evening.


Zack was in with some stiff competition from the other lads - Sonny and Fred. The girls were looking mighty fine, with little Ruby directing and Caitlin having a quick ZZZzz during the proceedings. Delightful !